The present invention relates to communication switching systems and, more specifically, to a queuing system for calls directed to a call center, wherein a caller can monitor other calls while awaiting an agent""s response.
For a growing number of public and private organizations, telephone-based customer support plays an increasingly vital role in activities requiring direct communication with a caller/customer. In order to serve a maximum number of callers, every call center is designed to optimize call handling efficiency and telephone agent productivity. Some prior art systems allow telephone agents to service a greater number of callers by a) ascertaining a caller""s request through collection, by a live agent, of initial information from the caller, and b) transferring the call to a voice response unit to address the specific request of the caller. Other systems reverse the answer and collection process by connecting the caller initially to a voice response unit which collects information that is ultimately used to route the call to an appropriate agent.
While these techniques increase agent productivity, such systems are often limited to business transactions that are rather simple and clearly defined. For moderately complex applications, in which caller requests differ significantly from one caller to the next, semi-automated prior art systems may lead to disconnects, connection to a wrong agent pool, or a sequence of call transfers that may be disconcerting to some callers.
A common device used in telemarketing centers to enhance agent productivity is an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) which allows a call center to cost-effectively handle a large number of calls by placing calls in a holding queue when no agents are available. Before a call is placed in the holding queue, a greeting message identifying the called party is played by the ACD, via an interactive voice response unit (IVRU), to the caller, indicating that the next available agent will service the call. During the holding period, music or advertising messages may be played to the caller to entertain or inform the caller of sales promotions for particular products or services.
Call queuing plays a very important role in call center operations. Known advantages to the call center include increased agent productivity by reduction of idle time for the agent, and increased capacity to handle more calls simultaneously during peak calling periods. Long call queues, however, have several disadvantages. Call centers waste a tremendous amount of money servicing long call queues. Callers waste time while in the queue, resulting in dissatisfaction with the service provided, potentially leading to abandoned calls. Further, for non 800 number calls, the user pays telecommunication charges while waiting.
It is known that many callers to call centers have identical or nearly identical queries but still obtain individual handling by agents. The prior art has attempted to handle such queries by providing pre-recorded answers to commonly asked questions. However, such a facility can provide less than satisfactory customer service, especially when the recorded answer does not precisely match the customer""s query.
It is an object of the invention to provide a call queuing system which enables a caller to obtain information in response to a query, prior to an agent being able to answer the call.
It is another object of the invention to provide a call queuing system which enables a caller whose call has been placed in a queue to xe2x80x9clisten inxe2x80x9d on other calls wherein discussions are being held that relate to the caller""s query.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a call queuing system which allows a caller, whose call is on hold, to browse through an archive of recorded calls or to listen to an on-going call so as to enable the caller""s question to be possibly answered, without requiring connection to a live agent.
The present invention is directed to: queuing a call when no agent is available to service the call, giving the caller an option to monitor (but not participate in) other caller conversations with similar queries, querying a database using collected initial information as a search key(s) to retrieve additional information needed to find a similar caller currently being serviced, and connecting the caller to a communication channel to allow the monitoring of a call while not losing place in the queue for a next available agent.
The invention takes advantage of the features and functionality offered by premise-based ACDS. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an ACD at the call center determines that no agents are available to handle an incoming call and invites the caller to be placed in an interactive holding queue. Upon receiving a signal indicating the caller""s willingness to be placed in the queue, announcements are then played to the caller in order to collect initial information to direct the call. The collected information enables the system to search for a similar subject already being handled by an agent. If such a call is on-going, the call is forwarded to a switch serving the agent. The switch, in turn, allows the caller to monitor the call in progress or a previous call which has been recorded. A database retains the caller""s subject and queue status until an agent becomes available. When an agent becomes available the switch disconnects the monitor-only connection of the caller and forwards the call to the available agent.
In another embodiment of the invention, the caller is given an option to remain in the monitor-only status until the monitored call is completed and then to return to the top of the queue for the next available agent.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the caller is given the option to enter a xe2x80x9cchat roomxe2x80x9d where callers having similar problems can converse until an agent becomes available.
The present invention has the advantage of reducing the size of a call queue, thereby increasing customer satisfaction while directly decreasing the costs of the provider.